Mr Feeley said: "In a number of important areas of patient care, NHS Scotland has delivered its best ever performance during the past 12 months.

"Waiting times are at their lowest ever levels, care is safer than it has ever been, levels of premature mortality have been further reduced and patients continue to rate their care very positively.

However, he said there was "no complacency" in NHS Scotland and where the NHS had not been at its best over the past year lessons had been learnt.

Dr Brian Keighley, the chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said the high standard of performance was testimony to the NHS's hard-working staff, under pressure to achieve targets as staffing numbers and budgets fall.

He said: "Our NHS is facing tough times and, as financial pressures mount, tough choices will need to be made about what the NHS can and cannot afford to deliver.

"Politicians and managers must take a long-term view of the NHS and work with health care professions to identify how services can be made more efficient and where cuts could be made without compromising patient care."